Steve Carlson

As co-founder and CEO of Ascend, Steve leads a team that is defining the next generation of lending through the use of behavioral economics and real-time data to actively monitor and reward consumers for positive financial behaviors demonstrated throughout the life of their loan.� In addition to his role at Ascend, Steve currently serves as a member of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Consumer Advisory Board, as well as an advisor/investor to multiple start-ups. �The former head of marketing and business development at Intuit Financial Services (Mint.com and Quicken), Steve has also held senior executive roles at HSBC and Washington Mutual, and advised global financial services firms as co-founder of Sung Carlson Associates.� Steve holds a B.A. in political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.